No kidding.  I spent about 40 minutes on the phone this morning, and I think I understand it.  Last night I spent about 40 minutes learning how to apply a buffer around a vector, then create a new layer, in order to analyze geospatial data.  The Block Emerald Advance is roughly as difficult.

My review of this card is that affords a low-cost line of credit, when evaluated from a long-term perspective. At the same time, it is hard to spend your money.  This account is best for someone who wants to establish a line of credit and then make minimal payments to it over time, without actually spending any money. There are people who would gain utility from such an account. Anyone who wants to embark on an effort to restore their credit would be able to find a satisfactory option, given the alternatives, through the Emerald Advance.  At the same time, the account has a complex fee structure. If you are late on your payments, you will incur a lot of additional fees. Its an account that you want to maintain in good standing.

The card’s structure is actually split into three different elements. There is a line of credit, a spending account (the “Spend”, and a savings account. The savings account pays interest, and the line of credit costs interest.

Consumers can open the account with an initial deposit. The account opening fee is $45. That fee is characterized as (more…)

While Jackson Hewitt and Republic Bank have both announced a new agreement for the funding of refund anticipation loans, there are miles to go before that relationship bears fruit. Republic still needs to get the go-ahead from the FDIC, and there is little time for Jackson Hewitt to respond if the FDIC wants to intervene.

The new agreement runs through 2012. Of note, it increases the number of locations where Republic will provide funding support for Jackson Hewitt franchisees.  It covers funding both for Jackson Hewitt’s refund anticipation loans and their assisted refund products.

Republic submitted a second 8-K on December 30th that indicated that it would be in talks with the FDIC about this new agreement.  The statement is simple, but it is hard to imagine that there isn’t something lurking behind (more…)